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Price proud to place Wally on his shelf

Hamilton drag racer wins NHRA ‘King of the Track’: ‘Definitely one of the biggest wins of my career.’

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By John Bombatch, Staff Writer 1:07 AM Sunday, June 28, 2009

HAMILTON — Every time Hamilton’s Jamie Price walks past his new buddy, he smiles and gives the little guy a friendly pat on the head.

His friend’s name is “Wally,” the famed bronze trophy that is awarded by the National Hot Rod Association to its professional and sportsman racers who claim a big race.

On June 21, Price won one of the biggest races in his 30-plus year drag racing career when he earned his Wally trophy at the NHRA’s “King of the Track” event at Tri-State Dragway in Ross Twp.

“I’ve kept him in different places of the house so far,” Price said of his coveted trophy. “It’s usually somewhere where I can walk by him, smile and touch him on the head.”

Price defeated Winston-Salem, N.C., driver Chris Plot in the Pro Division final. He then was in a run-off with the Super Pro and Street Division winners to determine which one of the three would earn the title of “King of the Track.”

As Price explains it, the three chose to run separate solo runs. The driver who had the fastest reaction time off the starting line, combined with the closest elapsed time to his dial-in time, would take home the Wally.

“I had a .025-second light and I dialed in a 6.01-second run, and I ran a 6.018,” he said. “The other two guys (Super Pro winner Tony Jewell of Hammersville and Street winner Dave Jennings of Norwood) made me go first. And so I went, and the other two guys red-lighted on their runs.”

Price, a longtime racer who credits his brother Kenny, dad Paul and mom Gwen with his racing success, finally had a Wally to call his very own. “This is definitely one of the biggest wins of my career. I’ve always wanted a Wally, ever since I was a little kid,” he said. “You just don’t get many opportunities to get one.”

Price, who fights the wheel of a semi for the J.B. Hunt Trucking Company when he’s not doing the same in his Chevy Monza, said his engine builder, former Super Gas World Champion Chuck Buckshorn, traveled all over the country to race, “And he’s only got two of them,” he said. “So it’s really special to win this.”

He laughed and said he didn’t realize he’d won the event until he packed up his 1978 Monza and sat in his truck for the ride home.

“I’ve been beat by everybody at Tri-State, and I’ve beaten them at one time or another,” he said. “The main thing is don’t be afraid, go up there, step to the plate and do your thing.”

Do that and every once in a while, you might just get to bring home a guy named Wally for all your trouble.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2851 or jbombatch@coxohio.com.

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